IGN finally gave us the long desired insight to what exactly changed in the Wind Waker HD!
The big news: there really is a harder difficulty mode. Of course it's really just the bare minimum, it's the Hero Mode from Skyward Sword. You take double damage and there are no hearts. That's it, no other changes, no additional enemies, no Master Quest style dungeons, no swapped islands or anything else that could have been done. It's not exactly a game changer or a selling point, but it's better than nothing, I guess.
What's interesting is that the Hero Mode is completely separate from the original game's 2nd Quest. And unlike in Skyward Sword it will be available right from the start. So, if you're a TWW-veteran you can start right away into hard mode. Also, it will be an option. Something that you can turn on and off as you please... which I find weird. I mean, when I beat Skyward Sword in Hero Mode, I've beaten Skyward Sword in Hero Mode. But will there be something that indicates that I've beaten The Wind Waker HD in Hero Mode? Or doesn't it really matter, whether I use this option or not? Is it more like the difficulty options in Minecraft? The unanswered questions continue...
And I wonder, if really all hearts are gone. In Skyward Sword's Hero Mode you had the option to use Heart Medals, so that hearts would come back. I wonder, if there's something similar in The Wind Waker HD? For example in the original games Savage Labyrinth there were no hearts either, but you were able to steal hearts from enemies with your Grappling Hook. Maybe it works the same in Hero Mode.
Also, we've now learned, how they modified the Triforce Quest. And I like it. Not all Triforce Charts are gone, but only five. That means that there are still three Triforce Shards sunk on the ground of the ocean, which need to be salvaged and where you need to decipher Triforce Charts from Tingle, much like in the original. That's a nice compromise! I like it.
And if you think about it, you could argue that the underground minidungeons on Outset, Stone Watcher Island, Overlook Island and the Private Oasis, as well as the hole at the Bird's Peak Rock are actually dungeons in the old sunken Hyrule that are accessed from above the ocean, much like the Earth and Wind Temple. That actually makes a lot more sense than finding Triforce Charts down there! And it has this classic The Legend of Zelda feeling, where you find Triforce Shards in dungeons. The Ghost Ship, the Golden Warship at Needle Rock Island and the Islet of Steel are the places, where you would find the charts above the ocean. So, these remain.
But it might be that you get a Triforce Chart from Bird's Peak Rock and a Triforce Shard from the Ghost Ship. Mostly because it would feel more balanced, because otherwise the Triforce Shard at Bird's Peak can be gotten with little to no effort very early in the game, while the Ghost Ship quest feels like it has no ending. And storywise the Ghost Ship could be a vessel that salvaged one of the legendary "Triumph Forks" in the past, so it could still make sense.
And did you notice something? Exactly FIVE charts are gone! Five! I previously had the theory that the five golden Tingle Statues would be in the old Triforce Shard locations. And now that there are exactly five open spots (instead of eight), this makes a lot more sense now.
My theory is that in the chests in the five main dungeons, where you originally got the Tingle Statues, there are now "Tingle Charts" (or similar). Tingle needs to decipher them much like the three Triforce Charts for 398 Rupees each, but they are of course optional. And in the sunken treasure chests you now get the statues. Getting all five statues unlocks Knuckle. This way all the important Tingle Tuner unlockables would be handled nicely. And you could still add a new item, which you get from Knuckle. Remember that it seemed like there's one open spot in the menu? Getting one from Knuckle is probably a better reward than just having the character appear. Like the Seagull-Beetle. Another idea could be "Tingle Bombs" (which actually were a part of the Tingle Tuner). They work like normal bombs, but they use 10 Rupees instead of 1 bomb.
Ah yeah, and wev'e learned, where you can get the Swift Sail:
The big news: there really is a harder difficulty mode. Of course it's really just the bare minimum, it's the Hero Mode from Skyward Sword. You take double damage and there are no hearts. That's it, no other changes, no additional enemies, no Master Quest style dungeons, no swapped islands or anything else that could have been done. It's not exactly a game changer or a selling point, but it's better than nothing, I guess.
What's interesting is that the Hero Mode is completely separate from the original game's 2nd Quest. And unlike in Skyward Sword it will be available right from the start. So, if you're a TWW-veteran you can start right away into hard mode. Also, it will be an option. Something that you can turn on and off as you please... which I find weird. I mean, when I beat Skyward Sword in Hero Mode, I've beaten Skyward Sword in Hero Mode. But will there be something that indicates that I've beaten The Wind Waker HD in Hero Mode? Or doesn't it really matter, whether I use this option or not? Is it more like the difficulty options in Minecraft? The unanswered questions continue...
And I wonder, if really all hearts are gone. In Skyward Sword's Hero Mode you had the option to use Heart Medals, so that hearts would come back. I wonder, if there's something similar in The Wind Waker HD? For example in the original games Savage Labyrinth there were no hearts either, but you were able to steal hearts from enemies with your Grappling Hook. Maybe it works the same in Hero Mode.
Also, we've now learned, how they modified the Triforce Quest. And I like it. Not all Triforce Charts are gone, but only five. That means that there are still three Triforce Shards sunk on the ground of the ocean, which need to be salvaged and where you need to decipher Triforce Charts from Tingle, much like in the original. That's a nice compromise! I like it.
And if you think about it, you could argue that the underground minidungeons on Outset, Stone Watcher Island, Overlook Island and the Private Oasis, as well as the hole at the Bird's Peak Rock are actually dungeons in the old sunken Hyrule that are accessed from above the ocean, much like the Earth and Wind Temple. That actually makes a lot more sense than finding Triforce Charts down there! And it has this classic The Legend of Zelda feeling, where you find Triforce Shards in dungeons. The Ghost Ship, the Golden Warship at Needle Rock Island and the Islet of Steel are the places, where you would find the charts above the ocean. So, these remain.
But it might be that you get a Triforce Chart from Bird's Peak Rock and a Triforce Shard from the Ghost Ship. Mostly because it would feel more balanced, because otherwise the Triforce Shard at Bird's Peak can be gotten with little to no effort very early in the game, while the Ghost Ship quest feels like it has no ending. And storywise the Ghost Ship could be a vessel that salvaged one of the legendary "Triumph Forks" in the past, so it could still make sense.
And did you notice something? Exactly FIVE charts are gone! Five! I previously had the theory that the five golden Tingle Statues would be in the old Triforce Shard locations. And now that there are exactly five open spots (instead of eight), this makes a lot more sense now.
My theory is that in the chests in the five main dungeons, where you originally got the Tingle Statues, there are now "Tingle Charts" (or similar). Tingle needs to decipher them much like the three Triforce Charts for 398 Rupees each, but they are of course optional. And in the sunken treasure chests you now get the statues. Getting all five statues unlocks Knuckle. This way all the important Tingle Tuner unlockables would be handled nicely. And you could still add a new item, which you get from Knuckle. Remember that it seemed like there's one open spot in the menu? Getting one from Knuckle is probably a better reward than just having the character appear. Like the Seagull-Beetle. Another idea could be "Tingle Bombs" (which actually were a part of the Tingle Tuner). They work like normal bombs, but they use 10 Rupees instead of 1 bomb.
Ah yeah, and wev'e learned, where you can get the Swift Sail:
1 comment:
Well, now that's some nice amount of confirmation.
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